Choose the Right

Anyone who has known me for the last seven-ish years knows that I have a thumb ring similar to the one seen above.  When people ask me what the letters stand for, I hesitantly tell them "Choose the Right".  I get embarrassed.  This little phrase is something that you teach children at a young age.  Choose the right.  Make good choices.  For me, the ring is more of a fashion statement than a reminder.
Today, though, my ring was a reminder.  The 5-year old I take care of decided to stick some rocks in someone's exhaust pipe at the park.  It's crazy what can happen when you turn your back for ten seconds!  Anyway, the 5-year old and I hung out in the parking lot until the owner of the vehicle arrived.  I told her what had happened and she thanked me for my honesty and took my phone number.  She than gave the 5-year old some wet wipes to clean off his hands and accepted his apology.  She thanked me for my honesty and went on her way.  She was very nice about everything.
In all honesty, though, I was just going to leave a note for her.  I had no idea how long she would be at the park.  I didn't really want to wait.  But she showed up while I was writing the note, which caused me some anxiety.  I thought, maybe I should just leave.  She doesn't need to know who put rocks in her exhaust pipe.  The whole situation made me feel extremely uncomfortable.  After talking to this woman, however, I felt reassured that I had done the right thing.  I mean, I knew I was doing the right thing, but my anxiety was telling me otherwise.
This was pretty much a situation straight out of the children's Sunday School manuals at my church.  "What should Philip do?  What would you do in this situation?"  I'm glad that I was able to overcome my anxiety and do what was right.  After almost eight years of wearing my CTR ring, I was finally able to use it as the reminder it was made to be.